Chapter 2 Section 2 Changes in Transportation Modes

First, the emergence of boats, vehicles, and roads.Ancient humans engaged in hunting, gathering activities, and frequent migration activities, all relying on human physical strength.In ancient times, most people lived along the river.With the application of fire and stone axes, to meet the needs of fishing and crossing rivers, the earliest water vehicles - canoes were created.With canoes, people's range of activities has expanded, and since then they can cross waters, open up new worlds, and promote the further development of production.Another major event in human transportation in the early days was to know how to domesticate animals such as cattle, horses, camels and elephants, and use them to transport goods instead of manpower, and also for people to ride.Inscriptions on oracle bones and bronze wares in the Shang and Zhou dynasties had pictographic characters representing carts, indicating that carts had already appeared, and reflected that the carts at that time had shafts and carriages for riding, and people had mastered the technology of "driving horses and serving cattle".After the car appeared, in order to speed up the transportation and increase the load, there was a requirement to build roads.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to compete for the hegemony of the Central Plains, all the vassal states built roads that could pass chariots one after another.After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he overhauled the roads, "cars on the same track", and promoted road administration, so that cars can reach all parts of the country.During the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian and Ban Chao were envoys to the Western Regions and opened up the "Silk Road" leading to the West.

Second, the rise of shipbuilding and shipping.Our country was able to manufacture wooden boats in the Shang Dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, there were large-scale inland riverboats in the fields of the Yellow River, Yangtze River and Pearl River.While using natural inland rivers, lakes, and seas for shipping, human beings have long known how to dig artificial canals to connect natural rivers and expand the range of shipping.As early as the Spring and Autumn Period in my country, the Xu River, Hangou and other canals were dug.The artificial canal of the Qin Dynasty, Lingqu, has an important position in the history of shipping in my country and the world. Its overall layout and specific design are very scientific.In the Han Dynasty, a relatively complete navy system was established, and ships with different purposes and types were developed.The appearance of building ships in the Han Dynasty is a symbol of the initial maturity of ancient Chinese shipbuilding technology.The progress of ship technology in the Han Dynasty is also reflected in the invention and application of sculls, rudders and cloth sails.my country's ancient shipbuilding and shipping have maintained a leading position in the world for a long time.

Third, the introduction of motor vehicles. The invention of the steam engine in the second half of the 18th century led to the Industrial Revolution.From the beginning of the 19th century, steam engines were successively applied to ships and vehicles running on railways, so motor ships and locomotives came out.Since then, opened up a new era of modern transportation. After the Opium War in 1840, imperialism introduced new modes of transportation such as railways into China as a tool of aggression. In the 1830s, steam engine ships made in Britain appeared in China's maritime transportation. In 1872, when Li Hongzhang organized China Merchants, China built its own steamships and began sailing on sea and inland river routes.The first railway in China was the Songhu Railway built by British businessmen in 1876. In 1881, China built the Tangxu Railway.The first main line railway completely organized by the Chinese themselves was designed and constructed by the outstanding engineer Zhan Tianyou, and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was opened to traffic in 1909.In China, cars first appeared in Shanghai and were imported from abroad in 1902.Automobile transportation requires the construction of roads with hard surfaces.China's highways began in 1908 with the construction of the highway between Longzhou and Nakan in Guangxi Province, but it was not fully opened to traffic.Air transport came relatively late.Famous aviator Feng Ru built my country's first airplane in 1909. In the early 1920s, the air transportation between Beijing and Tianjin began to carry passengers officially.

Fourth, the birth and development of post and telecommunications.The activity of transmitting information appeared very early in human society.The ancient post post was created to meet this need.In ancient times, human or animal power was mainly used to transmit government or military orders.It was not until 1896 that my country officially established a modern postal service.China's telecommunications industry is also one of the targets of imperialist control and plunder. In 1871, the Danish Great Northern Telegraph Company privately laid submarine cables along the coast of my country, and set up a telegraph office in the Shanghai Concession to start telegraph business.The telephone first appeared in the British Concession in Shanghai in 1881. It was operated by the British businessman Shui Kee, obviously serving the imperialist policy of aggression.While the imperialists were operating the telecommunications industry in my country, our country also started its own telegraph, telephone and radio communication services in the late Qing Dynasty.

The above is a brief cross-analysis of the general situation of my country's ancient transportation history from two angles and sides.Summarize first, and then describe separately.On the basis of a preliminary understanding of the historical clues of ancient transportation, we will divide the ancient transportation methods and tools into nine topics, and introduce them one by one later.